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a, B. TAGGAR'I "AND 0. W.-, BROWN, or WA'IERTOWN, NEW YORK;

Letters Patent No. 79,278;"dated June 23, 1868.

' IMPROVEMENT IN HATS.

TO WHOM I'J. MAY Gononnn:

Be it known that we, 13. B. TAGGART and C. W. Bnowx, of Watertown, in the county of Jcfi'erson, and State of New York, have invented certain new arid useful Improvements in thc Manufacture of Hats, Bonnets, and other like articles; .and we hereby declare the following to be a full,'clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which represents a vertical central section through a hat made in accordance with our invention.

Our invention relates to hats or bonnets, the bodies of which are made of paper; and it consists essentially in a'liat or bonnet formed from one continuous sheet of paper, which is shaped by suitable means to the conformation desired.

Hats and honnets have heretofore been made of paper boards, but. the sides, crown, and rim of such articlcs are formed separately, and afterwards joined together by sewing or other equivalent means. This method of constructing the hat or bonnet is inconvenient, consumes considerable time, and does not produce a perfect article, for reasons which need not bc-recited he1'c,fas they are well known.

To remedy such deficiencies, attempts have been made to employ paper-pulp for the same purpose, but this material is also defective in many respects. In its pure state it cannot be readily used in the former or mould, and does not possess suflicient strength or cohesion, when dry, to give to the hat or bonnet-body the requisite strength, and to meet this difficulty it must be mixed, when in the pulpy oipasty state, with animal or other fibre, (the employment of which is analogous to the use ofhair in mortar,) imparting to the pulp the proper degree of consistency. i p

The object of our invention is to obviate these difficulties, and to produce a hat or bonnet-body formed from one continuous piece of paper, instead of several pieces, afterwards sewed or pasted together, as in the instance first above mentioned, and possessing a strength and durability, as well as solidity, which cannot be obtained by the use of pulp. To accomplish these results, we proceed as follows:

The paper we prefer to employ is made from manilla, but any paper may be used To produce the best results, it should not be calendered, being taken off the machine before it reaches the calcnders, but it can also be used, if desired, after passing through the calcndcrs, and vwhile it is yet in a moist state.

This paper, which is of the necessary thickness, and cut to the size which is required for the hat or bonnet, is wet or moistened in any suitable manner, until it is rendered soft and pliable, and is then placed or drawn over aform or block, to give it the required conformation, which, of course, will depend upon the particular form employed. After remaining upon the form until it is dry, it is placed in a former on a block, and pressed by any suitable means, so as to give it the ultimate shape desired. This process compresses thc material, and smooths and removes the plaits or gathers which are produced when the paper is shaped in its moist state upon the first form.

The hat or bonnet-body is now ready'for finishing, which may be accomplished in various ways well known to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains,,by the use of a preparation of sizing and shoddy, of any desired color; and it may be felted, embossed, or otherwise treated, as required for the style of goods it is desired to manufacture.

If the paper which is used be taken from the machine before being calcndcred, it will, of course, be wet or moist, and, in this case, the preliminary operation of wcttingit, in order to cndue it witlrthc requisite pliability, will not be necessary. i

In order to give the paper the necessary thickness, it can be made of two or morcsheets, formed on separate cylinders, and then, while still in a wet or moist state, run together and wound on a. reel, ready for use. The paper for the hat-body will thus have the thickness of two or more ordinary sheets. i

Apart from the little expcnse attending the manufacture of a hat or bonnet-body of the material above indicated, the case with which the-paper is manipulated, as well as the readiness with which it takes the desired shapc,-thc fact that the hat or bonnetbody is struck up, as it were, in one piece, and at one operation, and that it possesses a strength and elasticity and consistency which cannot be imparted to one made of paper-pulp, indicates the extreme value and utility of our invention.

As above stated, We prefer the use of manilla or other suitable paper, in the state in which it is at that stage in its manufacture just before it passes to the calender-rolls; for uncalcndered paper is more easily fitted to the first form or block, and takes more readily the shape ultimately given it by the dies in which it is pressed. But at the same time the paper may be employed, even after being -calendered, though not with equally good results.

Having now described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, a hat or bonnet-body moulded or pressed from a continuous sheet of formed paper, substantially as and for the purposes herein shown and specified.

In testimony whereof, we hare signed'our names to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

" I B. B TAGGART,

C. W. BROWN.

Witnesses:

W. WITTGENSTEIX, G. A. SMITH. 

